Fraidy Cat (1942)

Tom hears a ghost story on the radio and is spooked by it; Jerry notices this and takes advantage of it, using a variety of tricks to scare Tom.

Directors:

Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Stars:

William Hanna, Lillian Randolph, Martha Wentworth

Cast

Uncredited cast:
William Hanna	...	Tom's and Jerry's vocal effects (voice) (uncredited)
Lillian Randolph	...	Mammy Two-Shoes (voice) (uncredited)
Martha Wentworth	...	Witching Hour Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Tom hears a ghost story on the radio and is spooked by it; Jerry notices this and takes advantage of it, using a variety of tricks to scare Tom.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | nine lives | cartoon cat | cartoon mouse | character seen only from neck down | 

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Genres:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cours... il y a un fantôme dans la farine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min 8 min (Restored Blu-Ray Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scary radio show that Tom is listening to at the beginning of this short - "The Witching Hour" - was an actual 1940's radio show. The voice that Tom hears on the radio was provided by Martha Wentworth, who hosted "The Witching Hour" as Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem.

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Connections

Followed by Casanova Cat (1951)

User Reviews

A fairly average early Tom and Jerry short

Tom is listening to a spook story on the radio (a form of entertainment I wish was still around) and is so wound up by the possibility of ghosts, that he jumps in fright at every sound. Taking advantage of this for his own personal fun, Jerry tries to freak Tom out by playing pranks on him, the main one being sticking a white sheet on a vacuum cleaner and pretending it's a ghosts. Obviously Tom becomes aware of Jerry's cruel tricks in the end.

It's very mildly funny though nothing really spectacular happens. I can really only recommend this to very young children as there is no real intelligence or wit to entertain an adult. Tom still looks a little rough, as he did in the early stages of his characters animation. Mammy-two-shoes shows up, but on the version I saw she was dubbed to make her sound more PC, as was common with Tom and Jerry cartoon manipulation in the early 90s.